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S o p h o m o r e S y d n e y F r e l i c h n a m e d v a r s i t y g i r l s s o c c e r c p a t a i n S O P H O M O R E S C O R E S R O L E A S C A P T A I N

LEFT: Sophomore Sydney Frelich juggles a ball Feb. 27. Frelich was voted captain by her fellow teammates. “I let the players vote on who the captains should be,” head coach David Aronberg said. “They voted her in as one of our four captains. From my experience, the kids make great decisions on who they want their leaders to be.” BELOW: Sophomore Sydney Frelich shoots a ball Feb. 27.

Frelich had two game-winning goals her freshman season. “Scoring my first Ladue goal was very cool,” Frelich said. “It was an overtime winner of our conference games. It was pretty exciting.” (Photos by Nicole Kalishman)

Sprinting down the field in a blur, the then freshman Sydney Frelich beats her defender and rushes to the net for the game-winning goal in overtime against conference rival Northwest Cedar Hill March 26, 2019. Then, it happened: she scored her first goal on the varsity girls soccer team.

This year, Frelich is going to lead the team as a captain – a rare occurrence for a sophomore. She will have help from the other captains: junior Grace Christee and seniors Elizabeth Loynd and Taylor Ott.

“From last year’s experience, I feel like I have respect from most of the older girls,” Frelich said. “I also have a lot of respect for them as well, so I don’t think it will be challenging to lead the other players. We already work together really well as a team and get along great.”

Frelich started playing soccer when she was 5 years old. Her parents signed her up because all four of her older brothers played as well. From there, Frelich fell in love with sport and has not stopped playing since. As she matured, she went from playing on a recreational team to a top soccer team in the area.

“I used to play for Olivette when I was little,” Frelich said. “On Gallagher, I played for a classic team for a bit, and I’ve been playing on Elite for a few years now. I’m currently on the Elite Club National League team.”

As a freshman on varsity last year, Frelich had to quickly learn to work with a group of older girls whom she had never played with before. She was quickly able to make this adjustment and contributed greatly to the team’s performance.

“At first, it was kind of scary because I felt awkward being a freshman on varsity,” Frelich said. “I was scared to hog the ball too much or take time away from the upperclassmen. It was really intimidating, but the team made me feel really welcome, and I fit in with them. By the end of the year, I was having a lot of fun playing with the team.”

Head coach David Aronberg views Frelich’s prowess and resourcefulness on the field as a special talent for someone her age. In his 15 years of coaching, only one other sophomore has been captain – when there were no seniors on the team. I do see myself as a leader, but I’m only a sophomore. It will be interesting and kind of weird to have to lead people that are older than me on the team. “ -Sydney Frelich, 10

“Sydney has a very high soccer IQ and is very versatile,” Aronberg said. “She can literally play all of the positions on the field at an extremely high level. In fact, last year, she played every position for us at some time or another.”

Her fellow captains see Frelich as a strong teammate. Having played with her last year, the captains know Frelich very well after building a strong relationship with her on and off the field.

“I love Sydney,” Ott said. “I like playing with her. I know what she is going to do before she does it, and [that’s] a great connection to have on the field. I think she is a great player, and she brings a lot to the team, especially in midfield.”

At the end of last year’s season, Frelich was voted as one of the four captains for this year by her teammates. Aronberg believes that she was chosen because the team saw Frelich as an example of leadership and of how to play the game the right way.

“I think it might be a little tough for her to be a captain as a sophomore in the beginning, but right now – from what I have seen – she has done a great job,” Ott said.

Aronberg agrees with Ott, and he expects Frelich to develop her leadership skills the same way she grew her athletic skills last season. She is not the captain screaming out commands at practice but rather the one always in the right place doing the right thing.

“She leads by example,” Aronberg said. “I think she’ll grow into the role of being a more vocal leader as she gets older, but the girls know that she knows what she is talking about and naturally follow her.”

Aronberg sees potential in Frelich to not only do great things for the team in her upcoming high school season but to go even further in soccer if she chooses to. This is high praise for a 16-year-old sophomore.

“I think she is someone who will play in college if she wants to,” Aronberg said. “The talent, skill and athleticism are all there, so it will be a matter of her finding a school that’s the right fit for her. I wouldn’t be surprised if she has a major impact on the next three years of Ladue soccer, both as a leader and on the field.”

Frelich does have some nerves going into the upcoming season, as her team will be looking to her for support and leadership. Despite this, she is excited and ready to compete with the team behind her.

“I think it might be awkward at first, just because I’m having to lead juniors and seniors, but overall, I think it will all work out,” Frelich said. “I can’t wait for the season to start. I’m excited to see what happens.” DOMENIC FENOGLIO sports editor LUCY LOCHMOELLER news staff